Operations

TNC Contract Drivers Have Hard Time With Taxes

Most working people in the United States are employees, meaning they file W-2s on tax day. But the independent contractors who deliver groceries for Instacart and drive for Lyft — not to mention those who teach yoga, cut hair, or consult independently — file what are known as 1099 forms, entering them into a whole different, and usually more complicated, tax process.

Matthew Whatley, aka the San Francisco “tax ninja,” realized a couple years ago most TNC drivers in the city “have no idea what they’re doing” when it comes to taxes. “Most of them haven’t filed in multiple years,” he says. “Nobody has a clue. None of them.” Whatley says a driver who’s making $50,000 a year could end up owing $6,000 to $7,000 in taxes, which can be a huge problem if you’re not budgeting for it. Now, Whatley hands out his business cards whenever he gets into an Uber or Lyft.

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